Race+for+the+job+Design+Document

=Don't Blow That Interview!=

An Equal Opportunity Game

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Mary Prine mprine@sdccd.edu Mary Ann Nazzaro mnazzaro@bellsouth.net Kimberly Berryman Rotter kimberly.berryman@yahoo.com



Instructional Objectives
Learners will recognize elements of a successful resume and will be able to identify ways to respond in a job interview.
 * Identify types of interview responses which would generate a positive image
 * Identify and respond to specific questions in an interview

Learners & Context of Use

 * Learners:** This game is designed for adults who are re entering the work force and would like a glimpse of the job search puzzle. Learners may have limited interview experience. Race for the Job is an excellent way to begin to understand how to proceed at that important part of the job search process. . The game is ideal for a job search workshop.


 * Context:** The game may be played in conjunction with activities associated with a job search. It should be supplemented with educational materials which reinforce interview concepts.

**Competing Products**
 * Frequency of play/ Following the game:** The game can be used in future events. Although the game can be played on multiple occasions, it would probably be less effective. However, it is appropriate and quite inexpensive to be used at job fairs. The compact design and well designed rules make it ideal for reinforcing concepts of the interview in the job search.

We did find some job related games in a specialty online store for business education students. These games were in the context of either the graduating student, or in some cases the adult learner with disabilities or English as a second language. The games included // [|social networking], a [|career challenge game] , a game which [|leads to the job] ** and a game to [|practice interview questions]. These games were similar to ours in that they address some of the challenges of the work force. The difference is that the demographic for players are a much younger group, with less experience and life skills but who are quite familiar with technology and the job search. **//

** Object of the Game **
The object of the game is to build knowledge on the interview process, collecting education, experience, recommendations while gathering the information necessary to answer the most challenging interview questions. Life gets in the way and players may experience a good or bad life event that will either advance them or set them back. The players ultimately find themselves in that interview, at which point they must have the information necessary to win the game. In this case, the information that they need will be the answer to the interview question that they are given. If they are lucky enough to have the right information, and are knowledgeable enough to say it, they win.

Content Analysis
Resume board ||
 * ~ Content Type ||~ Content Elements ||~ Game Elements ||
 * ===** Facts **=== || * questions of the interview
 * answers to interview
 * components of a resume, simple || Cards:
 * ===** Concepts **=== || * the right job takes time
 * recommendations are valuable and often priceless
 * The interview is a process from resume to job
 * You have to be in the right place at the right time || * progression on the board, rules (need to have enough to interview)
 * must work to get a recommendation card
 * 3 types of cards (questions, tasks, life) represented by common icon (resume, jobs online, social networking, job researching)
 * progression on board
 * rules: You can't interview if you aren't qualified ||
 * ===** Principles **=== || * Knowing the right way to respond to crucial interview questions might help you to win the job. || * Cards (best interview practices) ||
 * ===** Procedure **=== ||  ||   ||
 * ===** Processes **=== || The relationship of the concepts of meeting certain minimum requirements before qualifying for some jobs. || Players remain on board until they have qualified for a job. ||
 * ===** Probabilities **=== || * The right connection can speed up the process
 * You are more prepared for some jobs than others
 * Sometimes you get a break with the job hunt. || * chance cards which do not relate to knowledge
 * dice roll at the end to determine winner ||
 * ===** Context **=== || Job searcher || Board: Graphics, name ||
 * ===** Vantage Points **=== || An adult in search of a job || Questions infer that the responder is a job hunter. ||

Game Materials
4 resume cards - place holders for winks 3 sets of “winks”, color coded 1 dice 4 people icons Cards:
 * **Game equipment**:
 * Recommendations : Will include a multiple choice question and awards a wink if you are correct.
 * Best Answer : 4 different answers related to a job interview question. You draw a card, read it to the group, and then place it face down on your board. Game provides 2 sets of 4 best practices.
 * Life Happens cards : A variety of cards which can be good or bad.
 * Interview questions : There are 4 interview questions. Each requires a specific best practice card. Game provides 2 sets of 4 questions.
 * Rules Document

**Time Required** This is a simple game to set up, requiring only the board layout and the cards on the board. Each deck of cards should be shuffled prior to the start of the game. It is estimated that it might take approximately 20 - 25 minutes to complete the game. It will not be carried over for several play periods.

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1. **Setup:** Lay game board in the center of the table. Each player places a resume card in front of them. Best interview practices, recommendation and life cards are shuffled and placed face down on the board. Job interview cards are shuffled and placed face down in the middle of the board. Players start on any of the 4 start (job applicant) spots on the board.=====

2. **Building the resume: Race for a Job recognizes the importance in hard work in securing that right job. In order to get that job, you need a complete resume. Three of the key elements of your resume are your education, experience and recommendations from those who respect your work.

Education** and **experience are a function of your opportunities and what you have done before looking for this job. For that reason, in Race for a Job, the education and experience will just come to you on a regular basis. Yes, each time you land on either of them, you will collect a year, which is represented by it's associated color coded wink. For this job, you will need 4 winks for education and 3 for experience. **
 * In real life, ** recommendations ** must be earned. In Race for the Job, you must earn recommendations. Answer the question correctly, and you get a recommendation (another wink). You need 3 recommendations before they will see you for an interview.

S ometimes the best things in life are given to you. It is a good idea to hang onto these things, as they may help you in the future. This is true for the ** Best Answer card **. These answer cards will come to you, somewhat infrequently. If you get one, hang on to it. You may need it later.

Sometimes, life is unpredictable. Things happen. This is where the Life Happens cards come in. They may be good, they may be bad, but most definitely, they represent Life. ** 3. **The Job Interview cards** : It all boils down to the interview. Often, it is that one question that gets you. What would you say? RACE FOR A JOB takes some of the most difficult interview questions and gives you some clues for answering them. What sort of clues? You will find each clue in a Best Answer card. Didn’t we tell you that you might need those cards later?

4. **Starting the game** : The game begins with a roll of the dice. The player who rolls the highest number begins, and the playing continues counter-clockwise around the board. In the case of a tie, the players who tied roll again, until one person rolls a higher number and becomes eligible to begin the game.

First player rolls again and progresses in a counter-clockwise direction on the board. You will land on one of five spaces:
 * Education
 * Experience
 * Recommendations
 * Best Answer
 * Life Happens

If you land on **Education (EDU)** or **Experience (EXP)**, you earn a year. Take a color coded wink and place it on the appropriate place on your resume.

If you land on **Recommendations (REC)**, you will take a Recommendation card from the top of the pile and hand it to the person on your right. That person reads you the question and the multiple choice answers. If you choose the correct answer, you win the recommendation and receive a wink for your resume. If you are wrong, no recommendation for you. Return the card to the bottom of the stack. If you land on **Best Answer** **(BA)**, take a Best Answer card from the top of the stack, read it once aloud to the other players, and then place it face-down near you. You may need it later for the interview and only you can look at it again.

And finally, if you land on **Life Happens (LIFE)**, take a LIFE card from the top of the stack, read it aloud, and take the indicated action. Return the card to the bottom of the stack.

5. **The Second Turn and Beyond (to the Job Application)**: Each turn follows the same process. Each player rolls the dice, proceeding in a counter-clockwise direction around the board, attempting to earn the necessary winks to fill up their resume card.

6. **The Job Application:** If you land on one of the four job application **(Job App)** spots, check your resume. If your resume card is full and you possess at least one Best Answer card, move immediately into the Job Interview room. You may not enter the Job Interview room if it is already occupied by another player.

7. **The Job Interview**: After moving into the Job Interview room, take the Job Interview card from the top of the stack. Pick the top card on the deck and hand it to the person on your left. They will read the interview question. If you are correct, the player holding the interview question will say, “**You’re Hired**!” and you win the game! If you are incorrect, they will say, “**Sorry, try again**” and you must leave the interview room, continuing to roll the dice on each turn until you land on another Job Application space.

The question might be a tough one, but you may already have the answer right in front of you. That’s right. The Best Answer cards contain the recommended answers to these tough questions. All you need to do is know the right answer, either by remembering the best practices that other players read aloud, or by looking at the best practices card(s) in your possession. If you reach the Job Interview room before the answer has been read by anyone in the game, make your best guess.

8. **Winning the Game: As in real life, getting the job requires that you have a complete resume and you answer the questions correctly during the interview. The first person who hears those two important words, “ **You’re hired**” wins the game. **

Motivational Issues
There are several things which are going on in this game which serve a motivational factors to the players. First, the player is engaged by act of filling the resume. This provides satisfaction as the player continues, stimulated by the possibility of a random event which may drastically change the direction on the board. The players are cooperative as they share the best answer cards, but then retain a sense of competition by holding these cards out of the view of the other players.

The concept of the interview, with the difficult question and a tailored answer responds to both the learning needs of the adult learner (providing a worked example) coupled with the element of a problem solved, as discussed by Schell in the text through the lens of a problem solved. If the problem is to find the correct answer to the tough interview question, and the player has to choose between several similar answers, then the value of this answer is increased.

In a similar way, the prospect of completing the resume card before the interview will offer the player a sense of purification. By filling in all the dots, the player has a sense of satisfaction. Even if they are unsuccessful in the interview question, they feel pleasure with the accomplishment. This lens of pleasure is also reflected in our text.

In the end, we have to keep this game within the vantage point of the player. The person looking for a job has a definite task. Succeeding in the interview is most important. To design a game where the ultimate goal is a task which has high value (as an interview), the game is then seen through the lens of the player. Although a true gamer may find this to be an odd way to devote an evening, to a person in need of a job, this game may just spark that understanding necessary to be successful in the search.

Design Process

 * Process of design:** We began with a game of chance to "race for the job." We would include 4 players and would undergo a number of elements to reach the job. Some of the elements would include education, material things needed (like computers), and individual elements (such as resume and job search). We realized that our game was too complex, and that it lacked context and a clear objective. We felt it was necessary to step away from all of the elements of the job search and to focus on 5 skills: resume building, job search techniques, social networking, company research and the interview. With this in mind, it became a process related game.

At this time, we considered the background information of our students, and realized the power of using their combined knowledge to play the game. It was then that we decided to focus on teams, which would use the strengths of the individual members. With this in mind, we began to develop it as a social, team game which follows a series of steps in order to complete the job search process.

But ultimately, it was a confusing game. We discovered this in the first round of play testing. So we put our heads together to identify what we really wanted to concentrate on. We decided that the interview has the most potential, and it is an area that has similarities regardless of what the participant is looking to do. So we focused on the interview. But then we began to think about what gives us satisfaction in a game. One of these things is to complete something. So we added a resume element that we would complete. It is in this process (filling the resume) that we would expose our participants to the information which is necessary for them to have a successful interview. Both the Recommendation cards and the Best Interview Practice cards contain valuable information about the interview.

We had experienced problems with open ended questions, so our final challenge needed to be changed. We decided to, once again, focus on the questions and appropriate answers for an interview. We took some of the most challenging interview questions and paired them with a statement which would reflect a way to respond in a positive manner. These became the final elements of the game: The job interview card and the Best Interview Practice card as a partner.

In the next round of play testing, many players found this concept of choosing a theory based answer for a direct question was confusing. It was determined that a question which required a specific answer would be more appropriate than a general statement of what should be said. In this case, the best interview practice card became a best answer card.


 * Background information:** We used a number of websites (Job-Hunt, Resume-Help, AARP) to help research information available to the job search worker. While our scope was large, we identified five steps of the job search process, and linked resources and information for each of these on a wiki site. The content used for this game can be found on this wiki. It is also probable that this website will remain, and will be a source of assistance to the job seeker.

Our final game focused less on all of these steps and more on the process of the job interview. Nevertheless, the wiki which contained the content used for our game remains available and will be useful to those involved in the job search process. You can find this wiki at: http://50learningforum.wikispaces.com/Race+for+the+Job

Results of play tests conducted on 3 separate occasions by 3 separate evaluators discovered the following points in the play of the game: 1. Rules should address what to do with card after reading (bottom of deck or keep) 2. Need to mark the job application spot (currently called Start) 3. Blank squares are non productive. It made the game too slow. Either decrease the amount of squares, or add things so that they are always progressing. After 25 minutes, they were not close to filling the resume card. 4. The Recommendation cards were all OK except for #5. It was stated in a way that the respondent would answer their personal reply. An alternative wording would be: "If a problem came up on a job would you..." 5. The Best interview practices are OK, but when it comes to the final practices with question, it was confusing. Instead of best interview practices, we might instead do answers to interview questions. Maybe lots of opportunities to gather answers to increase suspense when they go for interview. In this case, the cards would be known as (something like) interview hints.
 * Feedback:**